Today we had booked a car to tour around the island. At $149 for the day it was quite expensive. There were no mokes available, it seems its wise to book them a few days ahead.
We couldnt collect the car until 11 ;30 so Megs and the girls swam off the back of the boat to refresh themselves , no one was very game though.
The dinghy was lowered and the 5 of us hopped in and left Morgan to mind Ovive. She wasn’t allowed on the bus or in the hire car. Charli has decided the dinghy is too unstable and squeals every time we get into it thinking she is going to tip out. She appears to be relieved when we get to our destination.
We all caught the bus to Nellie Bay to the car pick up joint then dropped into the hardware so I could purchase some hose ends, before driving down to the picturesque Picnic Bay. Picnic Bay has sweeping beaches in a tranquil setting and with the wind minimal an ideal spot for swimming. The iconic jetty reflects the island’s long history of tourism. Apparently, the Butler family settled here in 1877 and started an intermittent ferry service, bringing holiday makers to the island from Townsville.
We strolled along the jetty looking down into the clear waters where several fish were spotted.
We purchased ice creams for all at the Picnic Bay hotel as it was too early for beers then back to Geffrey’s Bay to search for rock wallabies.
We drove along a skinny road to an obsolete jetty skirted by large boulders and stunted pines. There were no wallabies in sight as we parked but a walk further along the rocky track revealed some sitting atop rocks hoping for a feed. We had only a small portion of apple with us however a kind woman gave the girls some carrot to feed to the wallabies. The small furry marsupials were shy but became bolder once food was offered.
Lunch saw us at the Arcadia pub which had a pool. Patrons of the pub were allowed to swim in the pool so the girls had a swim while we waited for our order of Bangers and Mash, Thai Beef salad and fish and chips.
Stone curlews snuck in between tables hoping for a feed only to be shoed out by the staff. They are a very large ground dwelling bird living on insects and frogs , its a shame it has learnt to feed off scraps.
On the way back to Horseshoe Bay John dropped us off at the forts walk so we could look for koalas then went back to Nelly Bay to return the car.
We started the walk hoping the koalas weren’t too far away as the girls had already had a fairly full day. The four-kilometre return walk leads to historic World War II fortifications and infrastructure. As we passed walkers coming back we were updated on how far away the nearest koala was. Megs and I had walked the trail several times in previous years so we weren’t bothered if we didn’t go far.
We walked through through eucalypt and acacia woodland hoping for a glimpse of a koala in the stunted trees. We were rewarded about 500 metres into the walk with one very close to the track. The girls were eager to touch however he was sleeping, and we discouraged contact as koalas require 20 hrs of sleep per day.
He did move though, stretching, yawning and even opening his eyes. The girls were pretty please especially as Koala is Charli’s favourite animal. We walked another 100 metres and came across another koala higher up. Time to turn around and head back as we had one rather worn-out kid.
Back at the entrance to the walk we waited for a bus but according to the timetable one wasn’t due for 30 mins so we decided to walk back to Horseshoe Bay, Megan carrying Charli. The walk started along a rocky trail but then opened out to houses where we walked along the roadside picking frangipanis and leaves to amuse ourselves. By the time we were almost back to Horseshoe Bay the bus arrived, so we hopped on it and travelled the last kilometre to the pub. Who should we find at the pub but John and Debra and Wayne waiting for us.
I took the dinghy back to Ovive picked up Morgan and joined the others at the outside tables for happy hour. It was easy to have dinner onshore at the Marlin Bar, we ordered Arancini balls, steaks and crab ravioli. The fare was average, but I wasn’t overly worried as I didn’t have to cook. Megan bought the kids red fizzy drinks, their first ever and as far as they are concerned, their last. Charli was hilarious chattering to everyone about anything and even when we got back to Ovive we couldn’t get them to sleep. At one stage Riley asked ‘how long is it till morning’? Very unusual for them as they normally fall asleep quite fast.